When I was 4 years old, a friend of mine came over to my house and we decided to go play some hockey in our basement. The basement is where I had plenty of space to play with toys or in this case practice a little hockey. My friend and I decided to challenge one another to what could best be described as a shootout. We had simple plastic floor hockey sticks and hollow plastic pucks. I agreed to play goalie first, and my friend stood about 5-7 feet in front of me. I didn't really think it would be dangerous, but I still decided to put on my dad's old football helmet just in case. My friend flexed the stick a bit and ripped a wrist shot that went right past the bars on the football helmet and struck me square right between the eyes. It surprised and scared me more than it actually hurt but that was the last shot we decided to take that day. I was fortunate my friend was not using a real hockey puck or it could've ended up in a bigger catastrophe. Ironically that same friend's mom was hit by an errant puck that flew up and over the glass at a Minnesota North Stars game that left her severely injured and incapicitated for weeks. I am sure in a way that is how Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin felt on Tuesday when he was struck by a clearing attempt by Nashville's Gabriel Bourque. The puck caught him in an area where he probably felt fairly protected, right underneth the eye shield and hit with devastating effect. It probably not only scared and surprised him but he probably felt as though his whole face was turned to mush, as his cheekbone fractured. Brodin's return date is indefinite, but Wild fans hope he recovers soon because they realize how valuable he is to the team. Unfortunately for him he's no stranger to severe facial injuries as he had his jaw broken just after the Wild drafted him after a hit he recieved in a Swedish Eliteserien game.
Even without top scoring defenseman Jonas Brodin, the Wild managed to score just enough on Tuesday to earn an important home victory over the Predators but many of the issues that the team continues to struggle with were still evident. Minnesota had a number of quality chances on the power play but just could not seem to bury those opportunities and while you can run into the occasional 'hot goalie' you still should bury more than 2 goals per game right?!?! Will the Wild finally demonstrate they can light the lamp more than twice tonight?
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1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota was in control early in this game as they seemed to have an extra step that the Carolina Hurricanes' lacked. The Wild were winning most of the small races to the puck and this translated into pressure in the offensive zone. Cam Ward was up to the task early. A roughing call on Brett Bellmore who got his stick up high on Dany Heatley gave Minnesota an early shot on the man advantage. Minnesota's power play executed very well, moving the puck efficiently and working it into scoring position but Ward was a wall. Here we go again. As the Wild's power play ended, the Wild had a nice little rush where Mikael Granlund found some space behind the Hurricanes' defense and the former Sm-Liiga star raced in and he pushed a wrist shot just wide of the goal and stretching out Ward who did not really make a save but the move clearly left him a bit less worse for the wear. Ward would have to leave the game and Justin Peters would venture out to patrol the Carolina crease just 4 minutes into the game. The Hurricanes could not seem to find any time and space and the Wild's defense was dropping back well to deny passing and shooting lanes. Over 5-minutes in the Hurricanes finally registered their first shot on goal as Nathan Gerbe fired a shot that was absorbed by Josh Harding. The Wild would earn another power play as he was 'picked' by Alexander Semin. Minnesota would strike very quickly into the power play as Granlund made a no-look backhanded pass out near the crease that was fired underneath the crossbar on a pretty finish by Nino Niederreiter to put the Wild up 1-0. Minnesota continued to cause the Hurricanes problems as the hustle of Zach Parise started to really shine as he outworked Carolina all over the ice. A big shot off the rush by Jared Spurgeon rang off the left post but was tapped home by Parise to make it 2-0. With all of the momentum on the Wild's side, Marco Scandella held up Eric Staal before he could get loose on an odd-man rush and Carolina would go on the power play. Minnesota's penalty killers rose to the challenge to keep Carolina to the perimeter for the most of the first half of the Hurricanes' power play. The Hurricanes finally got a great chance as Eric Staal threaded a cross ice pass to an open Semin who unleashed a wrist shot that was deflected up and over the glass by Harding and Minnesota would go into the 1st intermission with a 2-goal lead. I thought Justin Fontaine had great energy and looked like a poor man's Parise with his great hustle. Mathew Dumba looked good as well, playing poised with the puck and keeping his game simple.
2nd Period Thoughts: Minnesota had penalty trouble to start the 2nd period. The first one, a tripping penalty on Mikael Granlund was killed off with timely puck pressure that caused the Hurricanes to turn the puck over. Nate Prosser, Matt Cooke and Torrey Mitchell were especially prominent on this first kill. Unfortunately the Wild would take another penalty as Dany Heatley hauled down Jiri Tlusty on what was called a slash as he swatted the stick out of the Czech-forward's hands. Minnesota's penalty kill was pretty good at first, challenging the puck carrier well and making it tough for Carolina to get comfortable in the offensive zone. In the closing seconds of the Hurricanes' power play Eric Staal fed a cross ice pass to Semin who blistered a one timer by Harding who seemed to get across but just wasn't able to square up to the shot on the one-timer as it was now 2-1 Minnesota. The Wild would get a power play of their own as the top line of Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Justin Fontaine buzzed around the offensive zone but was unable to get a quality shot on goal but the pressure prompted Tuomo Ruutu to clear a puck up into the stands for a delay of game penalty. Carolina was not going to sit back and watch Minnesota light the lamp on the power play again and they made a big effort to challenge the Wild's entry into the offensive zone and the Wild struggled to get set up in the offensive zone. When the Wild finally did, Mikael Granlund tried to set up Dany Heatley in the slot but he was tied up just before he could pull the trigger. Minnesota kept trying to set up Heatley who was clearly really trying to will himself a goal but Peters was able to make the saves. The period was sort of a disorganized mess as Carolina's improved hustle was giving Minnesota fits. I think some of it was in part to the team trying so hard to set up Heatley it was almost as if they lost their focus. Torrey Mitchell took a foolish penalty in the closing seconds of the period when he tried to grind Brent Bellemore into board dust. The Wild must realize they are not good enough to let up against anyone.
3rd Period Thoughts: Josh Harding appeared to have hurt his leg in some fashion causing Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo to give the nod to Niklas Backstrom to try to finish off Harding's strong start. The 3rd period started off with the Wild on the penalty kill as they had kill off the remainder of Torrey Mitchell's penalty. Minnesota's penalty kill never let Carolina settle and were able to come away unscathed. The Wild did not help their cause as Stephane Veilleux took a pointless cross-checking penalty in the offensive zone as Zach Parise fired a shot on goal that was steered away by Peters. Backstrom looked a little rusty as he made an initial save but the puck would trickle by him but he was bailed out by an alert play by Marco Scandella to sweep the puck away before Riley Nash could poke it across the goal line. Minnesota would use good active sticks and get another crucial penalty kill. Minnesota would have a power play chance of their own as Eric Staal was tagged for tripping. On the man advantage, the Wild's power play struggled against Carolina's aggressive puck pressure especially through the neutral zone and near the blueline. Carolina did a good job at making the Wild waste lots of time resetting its power play. After the failed power play the Wild would sort of raise their level of intensity to play more of a counterpunching style. Dany Heatley tried setting up Jason Pominville for what looked like an easy goal but he was thwarted by the stick of Carolina's Ryan Murphy. Murphy had a terrific 3rd period as he demonstrated outstanding perseverance as he took a Clayton Stoner shot to the back of the leg and then limped around his own zone the next two minutes as the Wild tried to pour it on. He kept battling as he did his best, a stick tap to that effort. The Hurricanes would pull Peters for the extra attacker but it was Minnesota's night as Matt Cooke generously passed the puck to Dany Heatley so he could bury the empty netter to nail home a 3-1 victory.
Josh Harding played well before being relieved at the start of the 3rd period. Harding had 20 saves until he sustained what is being termed a lower body injury. Niklas Backstrom played well enough in relief, making 7 saves to give Harding the victory on the scoresheet. Defensively the Wild played very well. Ryan Suter, Clayton Stoner, Nate Prosser and especially Jared Spurgeon had a tremendous game. The Wild's defense did a great job at frustrating the Hurricanes from sustaining much of anything in the offensive zone. Mathew Dumba had a few small mistakes but so far the Wild are coping well without Jonas Brodin. The penalty kill was much better even though it gave up a last-second power play tally on Semin's one-timer goal.
Offensively the Wild had its moments where it did lots of good thiings but it also had its moments where it seemed to just be in cruise control. Mikael Granlund showcased some of his sublime skill tonight with a nice play off the rush where he narrowly missed the mark and then made a pretty no-look backhand pass to Nino Niederreiter for a nice finish on the power play to get the Wild going in the right direction. Jason Pominville is a player that the Wild need to hope has a little puck luck as he seems to really be pressing lately. Mikko Koivu, that's a whole other story as he again passed up on some great chances in silly attempts to try to complete a low-percentage chance. By all accounts Dany Heatley could not have been much more relieved when he buried an empty net goal late in the 3rd. Heatley was really bearing down for the last few games but just couldnt' seem to get a puck by anyone.
In the post-game interview, Wild head coach Mike Yeo had this to say, "We got a few goals and then we definitely took our foot off the gas, but we picked up our urgency level in the 3rd period." I would agree with this assessment. The team had a good intial start but then kind of coasted through the rest of the 1st and 2nd period. They were fortunate that lack of fire didn't cost them any points in the standings tonight. Harding's injury means Niklas Backstrom will have to work off the rust against Chicago. Its sad Harding couldn't finish the game that was dedicated to his Multiple Sclerosis charity Harding's Hope. I think its safe to say all around the State of Hockey that we simply hope that Josh Harding is ok.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Justin Fontaine, Mikael Granlund, Jason Pominville, Dany Heatley, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Cooke, Nino Niederreiter, Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell, Stephane Veilleux, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Mathew Dumba, Clayron Stoner and Nate Prosser. Niklas Backstrom shared the goaltending duties with Josh Harding. Keith Ballard (concussion), Mike Rupp (knee), Jonas Brodin (broken cheekbone) and Charlie Coyle (knee) are out of the lineup with injuries.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Wild.com were: 1st Star Zach Parise, 2nd Star Mikael Granlund, 3rd Star Nino Niederreiter
~ Attendance was 17,668 at Xcel Energy Center.
~ The Iowa Wild earned an important 5-4 shootout victory over fellow Midwest division foe Chicago. In front of 4,316 fans in Des Moines the Wild took an early lead as Tyler Graovac scored with just over 5 minutes in but Chicago answered back as Shane Harper buried the equalizer just about 40 seconds later. Wolves' defenseman David Shields fired a shot that beat Johan Gustafsson to make it 2-1 Chicago. This time the Wild answered back as Raphael Bussieres notched his first goal as a pro to make it 2-2 going into the 1st intermission. Chicago would take the lead again as Brent Regner lit the lamp. Iowa would respond with two goals as Brett Bulmer scored his 3rd goal of the season to tie it up and then Kris Foucault sniped a shot by Jake Allen to give the Wild a 4-3 lead. It was short-lived as the Wolves tied the game as AHL scoring machine Keith Aucoin found the back of the net, knotting the game at 4-4 and Kurt Kleinendorst would swap out Gustafsson for Darcy Kuemper. The wide open back and forth affair became a defensive chess match and the game would ultimately reach the shootout. In the shootout, it didn't start out well for Kuemper as he gave up goals to the Wolves' first 3 shooters. After Jason Zucker failed to beat Allen, the Wild responded with shootout tallies from Erik Haula and Zack Phillips. With the shootout tilted in favor of Chicago, 3-2, Kuemper would stonewall Mark Mancari and Ty Rattie opening the door for Carson McMillan to tie the shootout as the Wild's 5th shooter. So now the shootout went to sudden death and Kuemper stopped Sergey Andronov, giving former Golden Gopher Taylor Matson a chance to win it. The former Holy Angels' star raced in and beat Allen with a wicked wrist shot to seal the 5-4 victory. Kuemper had 21 saves in the victory while Gustafsson had given up 4 goals on 16 shots.
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